A Battle to the End: Wake Forest Tops Syracuse in Overtime
A packed Dome, “let’s go Orange” chants, and an unstoppable rushing attack were not enough for the Orange to pull the game away against ranked opponent #19 Wake Forest. The one handed snag by A.T. Perry in overtime ended the Orange hopes of winning the game and sent the Demon Deacons glaring up at the jumbotron to see if the catch was complete. In a game of momentum, the Demon Deacons stole the energy from the crowd defeating the Orange, 40-37.
With 2:42 left in the 4th quarter fans began to leave the Dome after a fumble by Syracuse running back Cooper Lutz popped into the air, falling into the hands of Wake Forest cornerback Ja’ Sir Taylor. The momentum had switched after the fumble however two plus minutes remained in the game.
The Orange buckled down on defense, not allowing the Demon Deacons to get in field goal range forcing a punt. In a drive with the score Wake Forest 34 - Syracuse 27, the Orange had every intention to score but with Garrett Shrader proving to run primarily as a quarterback how would the Orange get down the field? By Shrader’s legs.
In an 11 play drive, the Orange drove 94 yards down the field to score a touchdown. The touchdown was no ordinary play, as Shrader felt the pocket breaking down and chose to sneak up into it, dumping a short pass to running back Sean Tucker. Tucker caught the ball and ran 28 yards into the end zone with the defender bouncing off of him for the finish.
A decision by Syracuse head coach Dino Babers left the offense out on the field to attempt the two point conversion. However, a whistle for a delay of game penalty by the Orange sent Syracuse kicker Andre Szmyt onto the field for the extra point. Szmyt capitalized on the PAT, tying the game at 34 with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.
“I did not want to go to overtime,” Dino Babers said, adding that there some players who were "taking their time" which led to the delay flag.
As the game started to near overtime, Wake Forest made the decision to see if their renowned quarterback Sam Hartman could make a play to either win the game or get the Demon Deacons in field goal position. The decision was halted by Syracuse defensive end Steve Linton, who sacked Hartman to go into overtime.
The Orange received the ball first in overtime and could only put three points on the board. The Demon Deacons took possession scoring in two plays with a one handed grab by A.T. Perry from Sam Hartman.
This week’s battle makes the second consecutive loss in a down to the wire game for the Orange. The slow methodical waning of the patient mesh between Sam Hartman and his running backs was on display today. Often times Hartman could find his receiver A..T. Perry or Jaquarii Roberson striking across the middle of the field for a substantial gain. Hartman threw for 330 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one interception.
The one interception tipped by Eric Coley landed into the hands of safety Jason Simmons.
“My teammate made a good play on the ball, it just happened to fall into my hands,” Simmons said. “Just props to Coley for allowing me to make that play.”
Simmons caught an interception last week against Florida State however a penalty reversed the call taking away his interception. The interception today against Wake Forest marks Simmons first collegiate interception.
In a game full of momentum swings, the interception fended off the Demon Deacons for only so long.
A series of events starting with a 3rd and 8, to a then 3rd and 13 after a false start was then followed by the acceptance of a holding call by Syracuse head coach Dino Babers, making it 3rd and 23 which led to the crowd questioning his decision. The Demon Deacons with their backs against the wall on a 3rd and long converted on the 3rd and 23.
The decision by Babers to accept the penalty put Twitter in a frenzy. However the decision solely demonstrated the faith Babers has in his defense to get the job done… which they could not fulfill on that drive.
The performance by both teams led to overtime as each team would not stray away from their philosophy. Wake Forest’s slow but patient run pass option offense led to explosion plays which ultimately lost the Orange the game. The Orange’s decision to stick with the run kept this game close and allowed Syracuse to control the game at certain points.
If you look at the stat sheet, Syracuse’s 514 total yards may deceive you into thinking they won. However, it was the Demon Deacons 426 yards that won them the game. The game was even for the most part however Mikel Jones said it best.
“They just made better plays.”
